by T. G. Ayer
“Do they need Drake and me?” I asked, getting to my feet. I checked my phone. Santiani had sent a message confirming Gina was definitely coming to see him. Thankfully, as yet I hadn’t. “I need to go. I have an ongoing case that I’m looking into, and something’s just come up.”
Ivy nodded. “Of course, you need to go, dear. I don’t think the High Council will be too upset at your absence. You don’t work for Omega.”
I smiled and waved at the team, tired and drained now, wondering how I was going to regain the energy to deal with Gina and her father.
I grabbed Drake’s arm and tugged him along. As we exited the apartment he glanced over his shoulder. “Typical,” he growled.
“What’s typical?” I asked softly as we headed down the stairs.
“Just when I find myself a nice, decent, hot woman, she happens to be taken.”
I let out a laugh that was filled with irony, because all I could think about was Natasha and Drake and the way they’d looked at each other.
“Shut up,” said Drake gruffly.
Chapter 35
Drake insisted on coming with me to the hospital and I didn’t fight him off. He’d been a little subdued after the whole Natasha Incident and I’d left him to his introspection. He did however give me a piece of his mind regarding backup while apprehending the Gina-demon. I’d held my tongue wondering where his mind was at. I’d never go head-to-head with such a powerful creature alone.
Besides, I needed Drake to help me with the circle.
Drake had recently come up with the idea. A magic circle using an invisible marker. The wonders of combining magic with modern technology, he’d said.
I’d been a little upset that I’d not had that level of brilliance in the past.
Now, Santiani watched in silence as Drake drew the circle on the marble tiles on the open space beside the bed, crouching to reach beneath it to ensure it was unbroken. Being unable to see it, I had to hope that Drake had done it right.
Santiani gave the door a nervous glance every time the sound of footsteps echoed in the hall outside the room.
I cleared my throat, drawing a questioning glance from Santiani. “I need to explain something.” He tilted his head, listening. “I’ll remain in the room while Gina is here. But she won’t see me.”
He frowned, then nodded. “I understand. I’ve been told your abilities are unusual.”
Captain Murdoch no doubt.
Relieved, I took a breath as Drake got to his feet, pocketed his pen and dusted off his jeans. He gave Santiani a nod then beckoned me as he walked to the door. “Be careful. I’m right outside.”
“No, you aren’t.”
Drake gave me one of his glares. The one meant to reduce me to a simpering mess. It didn’t work.
“If she’s the demon, she’ll recognize you immediately. Stay around the corner until she comes inside, then stand guard.”
He relaxed, but didn’t smile. “Don’t do anything stupid.” He walked off to the right and took the corner at the far end of the hall.
I snuck back into the room. “Right. Remember, be natural. Take a different route with your conversation. Imply it’s evil and that maybe she’s possessed or something. It’s fine if you appear nervous.”
“You think she may be possessed?”
“It’s possible. It’s too soon to tell. More likely a form of mind control.”
He nodded. “What if she is mind-controlled?”
I sighed. “Then we will have to take her away and get her treatment. If that happens don’t be alarmed.”
“Why would I be alarmed?”
I smiled. “We won’t be using the door.”
He gave a weak smile then stiffened as the sound of heels echoed outside the room door. I disappeared, leaving a very surprised Santiani to scan the suddenly empty room.
I’d managed to shock him even though he’d been expecting it.
The door opened and Gina entered. She wore a dark blue silk pantsuit, white six-inch heeled sandals. A cute little white purse hung from her elbow, swinging as she slid her sunglasses up onto the top of her blonde head.
Her smile and bearing were both haughty and cool as she surveyed the room, glancing at her father last. Clearly she no longer cared about fitting in as a teenager, with her too-mature dress and her sultry air.
My heart stuttered as she snapped her gaze to where I stood beside the window seat. She frowned, the same way she had when she’d almost bumped into me in her bedroom. Then she gave a tiny shake of her head, as if berating herself for being suspicious for no reason.
She strode into the room, dropped her bag onto one of the armchairs and sank onto the bed beside him. Thankfully I’d had the presence of mind to keep my bag on me for easy access to the taser and the potion.
I shook my head at the strangely designed open back of her jacket. More revealing than sexy. Although the front was demure and buttoned to her collarbone, the back was cut low. It was one of the strangest garments I’d ever seen, and in that split second, I had to control the desire to laugh out loud at the thought of a demon having such particular taste in designer clothing.
When she took his hand in hers, her father flinched, his weak body betraying his aversion to her touch. She didn’t seem to care, just smiled at him and caressed his cheek.
“Don’t touch me,” he said, the skin on his face tightening. He backed away against the pillows, avoiding her touch.
Gina didn’t seem to care. She leaned closer and cupped his cheek smiling down at him, her expression filled with cunning and self-satisfaction. She knew she had him under her control.
For the first time, I witnessed the one-on-one interaction between father and daughter. I shuddered.
“I can do whatever I want and you can’t stop me.” Her words were spoken quietly, with such calm that it would have been easy to miss the menace in her tone.
Santiani didn’t miss it. He shook his head. “You’re evil.”
Gina stiffened for a moment, then threw her head back and laughed. The sound rang around the room, an eerie, spine-chilling echo that confirmed a demon was in our presence. Whether or not it merely possessed the girl, or was using her flesh as a vehicle, I couldn’t tell.
“How can you call me evil, Father?” She pouted. “I never did anything to you. I just made you think that it happened.”
“What?” Santiani was stunned and tried to push away her hand. “Why? How?”
She pursed her lips and sighed. “You and your family were perfect. So much love and devotion. Do you know how powerful love and devotion is to me? And then . . . there is grief. That heart-breaking devastation of having a loved one ripped from you . . . so much power in that. So much sustained power in consistent every day grief. And you . . . you were so perfect. You really loved your wife.” She shook her head, and smiled. “Such power. You just kept giving me power.”
“Why tell me now?” He looked confused.
She moved back and settled on the mattress. “Because I had to show you the truth. But a lady never reveals all her secrets.” She tried to be coy but her expression said she was tiring of the discussion.
“I said you’re evil, and now I’m certain of it.”
He sat up and tried to push her off but the air around him shimmered. Shadows swirled like dark smoke, twisting around his upper body, darkening as it tightened. The smoky tendrils solidified into black satin ribbons, winding around Santiani’s arms. He was trapped. Gina placed a red-painted fingertip against his chest and pushed him until he lay flat on the bed.
“I’ve been waiting. But don’t worry. After this, I won’t need you anymore.” The smile she gave told me in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t going to leave him alive.
It made more sense now, how she operated. She looked for loving, devoted families and used that emotion against them, living off the power their emotions generated. Sounded like a smart plan, except for all the dead bodies she was leaving in her wake.
“What ar
e you talking about?” he asked, shaking his head.
She sighed. “I need the last of your grief, every last speck that you have left. It’s time.”
“Time for what?” He struggled, throwing himself against the ropelike bindings. He flung a desperate look at me. He needed support in some way so I materialized for a brief moment, gave him an encouraging nod, then put my finger to my lips. I faded away quickly, fearful Gina would have seen him staring at the very same spot she’d stared at on entering the room.
But Gina was focused only on Santiani. She shifted, climbed up onto the bed and swung a leg over his hips. He cried out, horror and revulsion twisting his features into something unrecognizable.
She bent closer, her lips beside his ear. “I’m done playing games with you, Father.”
Santiani growled. “You are not my daughter. Get off me.”
Gina stiffened, sitting up straighter as she studied his face. I took a few steps closer, preparing myself for making my move. I slipped the taser from my pocket, holding it ready.
“How can you say such a thing? I’m your daughter.”
He shook his head. “You’re not Gina. If you are Gina, then you’re possessed.”
“Possessed?”
“Yes, Gina. Something is controlling you. Making you say and do terrible things.”
Gina laughed, the sound high-pitched and tinkling, filled with light-hearted mirth. Her smile was wide, almost enchanting.
And then it changed, her skin rippling and changing. It was only a brief moment of change but even from her profile I could tell her face had shifted, revealing her true form to Santiani.
So she was the demon. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or saddened. Santiani’s face paled, the machines at his side beeping a little faster, recording his terrified state.
“It’s time. I don’t have any choice so don’t make this difficult, okay.”
I wanted to look away. Natasha hadn’t mentioned any details on the demon’s process of drawing energy from the father. But from what it looked like was about to happen, I had a pretty good idea.
He shook his head, turning from side to side even as the demon chuckled and lowered her body to his.
“I’m sorry. Only one of us leaves this room alive. It’s either me or you and I’d much prefer it be me.” She curved her fingers, smiled as her red nails grew longer and sharper, ready to gouge.
As she reached for his throat, I materialized and shoved her off the bed and onto the floor where she landed right in the middle of the protective circle.
She shrieked, instinctively spinning around and reverting to Gina’s form. As soon as she touched the ground, the invisible circle began to glow an iridescent silver and gold. Gina grunted and moved to step out of the circle but it held, a dome of glowing silver smoke keeping her safely within.
The door cracked open and Drake entered, locking it behind him.
The demon slammed against the protective bubble again and this time the magic shuddered, a tiny tear appearing in it. I didn’t waste any more time. I grabbed the taser from my bag, held it out, and pressed the switch, watching as the twin spikes flew at the demon, and impaled themselves into her neck.
The demon convulsed as pure energy flooded into her body. I wasn’t sure how Natasha’s magic worked, but whatever it was it succeeded in slowing the demon-Gina down.
Enough for us to get her out of the hospital room before she caused unexplainable destruction.
Natasha had said I was to take the demon to the white water on her property. It had contained the dark magic, suppressing its power within its depths.
As the energy dissipated, I reached for both the demon and Drake at the same time. I jumped from the hospital room to the pond, ignoring the sudden vertigo that washed over me.
Chapter 36
I transported Drake and the demon to Natasha’s white-water pond.
The moment we materialized, the demon screamed, taking on Gina’s form for a few moments. Long enough to impale me with a glare. Energy flowed from her body sending branches and stones flying at me.
“You dare to stop me. Do you know not who I am?”
“Who are you?” I asked. “Not that I give a shit.” I crouched low, protecting my face.
The demon laughed, clearly not having heard my comment. “I am Yarrsh. I have powers like nothing you’ve ever seen. You weaklings believe you can defeat me?” She laughed, cackling so loudly that I just wanted to stab her in the eye to shut her up.
Weaklings indeed.
“We can try.”
“It has been four centuries and nobody has yet succeeded.” Before I could respond, Yarrsh, the unbelievably powerful four-hundred-year-old demon struck me with the full force of her magic. The attack was so sudden that I was unprepared, and wasn’t able to deflect the blow.
The impact lifted me off the ground and straight into the trunk of an ancient oak tree. My back cracked against the wood and the blow shuddered through my bones. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Natasha come running.
She sent a blast of magic straight at Yarrsh-the-demon, who screamed when the blow hit her full force and threw her to the ground. She landed inches from the water, rolled over easily and jumped back to her feet.
Yarrsh was far more powerful than we’d anticipated
Natasha seemed to be taking it in her stride. She ran forward sending more blasts of magic at the demon and the two fought a battle between black and white magic while I struggled to get back on my feet. I stood at the edge of the magic, unable to do much other than watch.
I felt a little bit superfluous in this fight.
I never had a reason to use magic, or to fight with it. I usually appeared, retrieved and left as fast as I could. Sometimes I used my weapons, and then I’d leave even faster.
As I got to my feet my hand instantly went to my bag, my biggest fear being that the potion had been destroyed. Thankfully we’d carefully placed it inside a protective pouch in preparation for just such acrobatics.
By now Yarrsh had lost all pretense of being Gina the human girl. She fought Natasha in her full demonic form, her skin blood red, crimson hair streaming behind her. The blood-red nails swiped straight across Natasha’s abdomen and my heart changed as I heard the white witch scream in pain. As powerful as Natasha was, white magic wasn’t built to withstand black.
Natasha fell to the ground her hand held tightly to her stomach, the front of her white dress growing red with blood. Drake ran toward her performing the actions of savior for a second time in so many days.
I couldn’t pay too much attention to them because I knew time was of the essence. I stumbled closer and raised my hand, my fingers loosely holding the fragile bottle of liquid magic. Yarrsh barely paid attention to me as she crowed over having defeated the white witch. Maybe it was a good thing that she wasn’t coherent in her demon form.
Only when I got two feet away from her did she cease her cackling and turn her attention to me.
She grinned and lifted her hands, screaming into the air, the sound ripping into my eardrums.
Clouds gathered overhead, and the icy wind gusted around us, trapping us within a tornado. Leaves and branches spun around us, and I had to squint against the rushing air.
Drake hunkered low, protecting Natasha from the wind. If I had time, I would have been amused, knowing from personal experience that nature had little effect on a white witch. And in fact, it fueled her power, giving her energy from the depths of the earth.
Yarrsh studied me, then turned away, assuming I was no threat.
Little did she know.
She advanced on Natasha, lifting her hands and sending waves of energy at the couple. The power of her magic shifted soil and dirt, rippling the surface of the ground and flattening Drake’s skin against his bones.
I raised my hand and threw the bottle directly at the back of Yarrsh’s neck. She’d definitely chosen the wrong designer. I focused on the bottle as it flew through the air and hit her at the top of
her spinal column. The glass shattered into millions of pieces and the orange liquid burst into magical flame, skimming the surface of her skin and weaving its way beneath her clothing. Sparks flew and flames flickered along her entire body, burning her clothes to fragments of dust.
The demon screeched, the sound like knives in my brain. I covered my ears and sank low watching the tornado spin faster around us, listening to the screams of the dying demon.
Her skin, now blackened, began to crumble away, revealing the inside of her body, red flesh melted, seeping through the black gashes and I watched in horror, unable to turn away.
Yarrsh lifted her blackened arms and opened her mouth. Maybe she meant to say something to us, to curse us for killing her. But no words escaped. Only a pained keening, like the sound of a distant eagle, amplified a million times.
And then she exploded, sending shredded pieces of charred red skin and shattered bits of white bone flying in all directions. The tornado ceased, and everything dropped to the ground instantly. I ducked, evading a flying hand by mere inches.
The wind had stopped and Drake and Natasha were getting to their feet slowly.
I rose too, using a tree trunk to support me.
It felt a little anticlimactic. Yarrsh the four-hundred-year-old demon was gone, but we hadn’t found Gia, and now Gina was dead too. I felt a deep sadness for Carlo Santiani, targeted by this malicious demon for no reason other than having a loving family.
I leaned against the tree, resting my head against the solid bark.
It was over.
But not for me. I was going back to the Santiani mansion to check the place out one more time. Because something Yarrsh had said to Santiani had been bugging me. I couldn’t put a finger on it until now.
She’d said she needed a constant energy to draw from. Which meant she needed a living life force. And since she’d been about to kill off the father, then that would leave at least one other family member from which to draw power. Until she found her next family.
Since she’d been using Gina’s body, she was also using Gina’s life force.